Numerous baking techniques are known which allow the creation of a great variety of baked goods, appealing to a variety of tastes. Specific volume (in cubic centimeters per gram) of baked products can be increased by using various shortenings, see Desai et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,627. Shortenings are also added to leavened doughs to impart tenderness and texture to the resulting baked goods. But other factors effect specific volume. The various factors that effect the specific volume of baked goods are imperfectly understood.
An improved understanding of these factors would allow the creation of baked goods that were fluffier, and lighter in weight and texture. Desai et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,360,627, disclose a reduced fat shortening substitute for baked products. In developing this reduced fat shortening, Desai observed that shortenings can increase the specific volume of baked goods by shortening the strands of gluten, which otherwise would form a tough, meshwork structure that did not expand during baking. Holscher et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,818,553, likewise observed that substances can be added to leavened dough to increase the specific volume of baked products.
In developing a method for producing frozen yeast-leavened dough, Felske et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,743,452, similarly observed that the texture and specific volume of frozen dough can be effected by addition of hydrocolloids.
None of the prior art, however, teaches how to maximize the specific volume of baked goods by reducing dough moisture content without any attendant loss of dough consistency. There is a continual need for compositions and methods that maximize the specific volume of baked goods.